Kareem

Did you know?

A few things about Kareem you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Kareem

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

American basketball player (born 1947)

Choose Kareem and your child shares a first name with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, an American basketball player. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Kareem, like who?” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Wikipedia article is available in 87 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Yahoo from Sunnyvale, California, USA, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 4,460 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Kareem, 383 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Kareem would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKareem first shows up in US birth records in 1964, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 61 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1977, when it reached #367.
• 🍂TrendKareem has slipped 63 places over the last five years and now sits at #701. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedKareem is most popular in Michigan, where it ranks #330, followed by Illinois (#375) and New Jersey (#396). It's in the top 1,000 in 20 states.
• 💬MeaningIn Arabic, Kareem means “generous”.

About the name Kareem

Kareem is a boy name meaning “generous”. It has 6 letters and 2 syllables, starting with K and ending in “-eem”. US birth records list Kareem for boys from 1964 to 2025, in 59 of those 62 years. Its best year was 1977, when it ranked #367 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #701, with 383 babies.